Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie

We first walked past the big pink sign pointing to Steve’s Key Lime Pie last September. I (in my food-obsessed head) took note, but for some reason ignored the instruction to turn left. It may have been because I was carrying two huge blue Ikea bags, or because I was running at 6.30 in the morningm so the pie shop probably wasn’t open. But last weekend we were in Red Hook empty handed, and so we turned left at the pie sign.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie is a tiny little shop. You open the door to a small line of people who fill the room, leading up to a counter, behind which is a rickety fridge full of lime pies in varying sizes, a freezer filled with their frozen pie-on-a-stick vacation, and a chest freezer full of ice for the limonade. No money has been spent on fuss or design or aesthetic pleasure: This place feels more like the hallway of a village hall than a much-loved, Brooklyn-famous pie store.

There is, however, something wonderful about a shop or a business which specializes so resolutely on one item. Besides the classic key lime pie, Steve has only expanded his repertoire to a mini frozen take on the pie, and cups of limonade. The key lime theme prevails, and he is not moving far from it. Once you’ve tasted the pie and sipped on the limonade, you’ll understand why. And you'll forgive them for the lack of interior design.

The key lime pie - of which we shared one small one due to the copious amounts of barbecue that we’d just eaten - has a buttery graham cracker crust, and is simply filled with a zesty, citrusy, zingy lime curd. It’s like the classic lemon tart’s exotic cousin. Next time we won’t be so stupid as to buy just a small one, no matter how many spare ribs we’ve just consumed. I passed on the limonade, for fear that I honestly couldn’t fit anything else in my stomach, but I - typically - then proceeded to drink all of B’s. With just a hint of sweetness, and plenty of ice, this is my new summer drink of choice. Add I think it should always come served with a slice of Steve’s unbeatable key lime pie.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie, 185 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231